LEAD Action News Vol
1 no 2 Winter 1993 ISSN 1324-6011
Incorporating Lead Aware Times ( ISSN 1440-4966) and Lead Advisory Service News ( ISSN 1440-0561)
The journal of The LEAD (Lead Education and Abatement Design) Group Inc.

The Sun Herald 7-3-93 Labor plans to cut lead
levels in petrol
By Heath Gilmore

"Labor proposes to halve lead levels in petrol
across Australia in a final bid to shore up the environmental vote
before next Saturday's election".

"Speaking at Richmond, near Sydney,
Environment Minister Ros Kelly confirmed the lead plan, saying
legislation to enforce it would be drawn up within six months if Labor
won".

The Australian 25-3-93 p3 Fahey to cut lead in
petrolBy Ean Higgins

"The NSW Premier, Mr Fahey, said yesterday his
Government would require petroleum companies to cut the lead content in
petrol to 0.3 grams a litre within a year and to 0.15 grams a litre as
soon as feasible thereafter" .

Consuming Interest April 1993 pp22-4 The
problem of lead - proposals for a new battle planBy Chloë Mason "Federal and state government authorities
should heed the concern of the community, think beyond petty political
and demarcation issues, and take immediate action to create a national,
integrated strategy aimed at halting this progressive poisoning of our
environment, our homes, our children and ourselves".

Weekend Independent p3 2-4-93 Petrol to contain
less lead
by Elspeth Walker

"The Queensland government will look
at reducing the amount of lead in leaded fuel. This follows action
recently announced by the New South Wales government”.

Weekend Australian 24 p7, 25-4-93 Fears over
polluted rivers

By JULIAN CRIBB

"Heavy metal contamination of sediments in the
rivers, creeks and bays off Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay has been
uncovered by a Sydney University scientific team.

"Lead levels ranged as high as 900 parts per
million in Salt Pan Creek, the Cooks River and southern bays of the
Parramatta River estuary - compared with a background level of less than
50 ppm".

"During studies of the use of mussels as
pollution monitors, a team led by ANSTO's Dr Ross Jeffree found heavy
metals entered the animal by the same route that it absorbs calcium to
build its shell or bones. In the absence of sufficient calcium for its
needs, the creature takes up heavy metals by mistake."

Utusan Konsumerp18, Penang mid May 1993

Lead and the link to children's IQ GLOBAL NOTEBOOK" A
large new study by a research team at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in the Bronx, is the first to examine the benefits
of reducing lead levels in children who have no obvious symptoms of lead
poisoning.

"On average, they found that for each
three-microgram drop in lead there was a corresponding one-point
improvement in the children's performance on IQ tests. In the group of
children who responded best to treatment, a drop up to 30 micrograms
lead was noted, which would correspond to a 10 point increase in
intelligence scores".

Daily Telegraph Mirror p19. 21-5-93 Pray
as you urn a cuppa

"The West Australian Health Dept said
yesterday recent samples had revealed high levels of metal in the water
in some cappuccino machines.

"Already, four Broken Hill children, with
blood lead levels almost three times as high as those recommended as
safe in Australia, and six times as high as levels seen as safe in the
United States, have had to be chemically treated to remove the heavy
metal from their systems. "The report found the concentration of
fine particles of lead in the soil in one small part of the town was 67
times the recommended levels."

Sydney Morning Herald p8 24-5-93 Lead
exposure targetedBy TONY HEWETT

"The delegates at the meeting of the
Australian New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC)
described lead contamination as one of the most crucial health and
environ­mental concerns facing Australia"

The Australian 24-5-93 p14

Kelly kicks off petrol drive "After a meeting
of ANZECC in Sydney at the weekend, Mrs Kelly foreshadowed Australia
would take steps to eliminate most lead in petrol as the United States
and Canada have done".

The Australian 24-5-93 Overdue move to lower
lead levels Editorial

"In the face of compelling and consistent
scientific reports showing lead to be more danger­ous, and in smaller
quantities, than previously thought, Austral­ian authorities are
considering reducing the standard to 15 mic­rograms. Their review,
however, has been interminable. In the meantime the United States ­lauded
by Mrs Kelly for tackling the leaded petrol issue - has long since
reduced its standard to 10 micrograms. "

Telegraph Mirror 25-5-93 Car push to get the
lead out
By SCOTT ELLIS

"Owners of all cars capable of running on
unleaded petrol were today urged to make the switch to the ' greener'
fuel."

The Age 27-5-93 Call for price incentive to
reduce use of leaded petrol
By HUGO KELLY

"The Federal Government is expected to
consider making leaded petrol up to three cents a litre more expensive
than un­leaded fuel as part of a campaign to reduce lead
pollution."

The Australian 28-5-93 Our lead levels
are still much too high
Letter to the editor by ELIZABETH O'BRIEN

"The LEAD Group is concerned that any change
to Australia's blood lead 'level of concern' which settles on a figure
above 10ug/dL, would be based on political rather than medical
factors".

The Australian p6 28-5-93 Low lead in
petrol may save $4.6bn
By JULIAN CRIBB

"Governments could save the economy
$4.6 billion by reducing childhood brain damage and adult heart attacks
and strokes caused by leaded petrol, a new study has found".

"The big base metals miner declared
that at best this year's result before abnormal charges would equal last
year's loss due to wayward zinc prices, for which the depreciation in
the Australian dollar had failed to compensate."

The Advertiser P 14 29-5-93 Blitz on old
jalopies to cut lead levels
By JENNY TURNER

"The oil industry representative
body, the Australian Institute of Petroleum, has joined the push for
lower lead levels in petrol. AlP executive director Mr Jim Starkey said
the industry was doing all it could to keep prices down, and at the same
time produce an environmentally sound product. "He said it was
impossible for the industry to cut the level of lead in petrol
immediately without directly affecting petrol prices."

"The only way to stop the emission
of radionuclides and put out the fire was to smother the burning reactor
with sand. This would have to be dropped into the crater by helicopters,
and to the loads of sand should be added boron, dolomite and lead."

Newcastle Herald 8-6-93 A lead on lead Editorial

The National Health and Medical Research Council
wisely set a lower target last week for concentrations of lead in blood,
more than halving the previously accepted level to less than 10
micrograms of lead in each decilitre of blood.

"While anti-lead groups have criticised the
NHMRC for setting no date for achievement of the lower target, that task
is really the province of politicians."